Stonehearst Asylum

Stonehearst Asylum is mentally at the level of Dracula Untold, but with a more ambitious story, an A-list cast and wrapped up in nobler motivations (everything for love!). It lacks the intelligent, detached perspective and masterful toying with the audience that make Shutter Island so great. (26/02/2015)

If you're going to make a film about a madhouse with a weird mystery, then a) make the screenwriter supercharge the plot with functional characters, or b) tell the producers that the main character will pull money out of wallets, but that her insistent harassment in the plot will kill credibility in addition to compactness; I consider the final point, when the smarter third of the audience started laughing in relief, as Anderson's raised middle finger (to everyone). 3 ½. (28/07/2015)

I've been looking forward to Stonehearst Asylum since the first trailer and I'm even more surprised at how great it is. We can count the number of insane asylum thrillers on one hand, and for that reason alone we have to appreciate this very atmospheric, superbly directed and acted thriller, which throws so many twists and turns at the audience in the last half hour that I slowly started to squint with joy. A truly awesome cinematic experience with an amazing cast and one of the best final twists in recent times, it put a smile on my face. 80% (30/10/2014)

I really like this type of movies. Although I was strongly reminded of Shutter Island the entire time, I didn’t really mind this at all. They don’t make many films like this. Stonehearst Asylum has a great atmosphere, great actors (mainly Ben Kingsley and Michael Caine) and two pretty decent plot twists that will keep you awake at night and are a nice fit into the complete puzzle. What more could I want from such a film? (07/02/2015)

An interesting cast and interesting source material, but ultimately nothing to hold my attention. The film is beautifully stylized, and the sanatorium is wonderfully eerie, but even so, Stonehearst Asylum doesn't quite fall into the category of films that are truly worth seeing. I found it incredibly tedious. (27/10/2014)